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Hooky the Cripple: The Grim Tale of a Hunchback Who Triumphs
Hooky the Cripple is a dark and violent tale for our times. Set in 16th century Italy, it tells the story of a young hunchback who, persecuted beyond endurance, fights back against his tormentor and then must face the grim consequences.
With striking illustrations by Adam Cullen, Mark "Chopper" Read's tale will shock, amuse and inspire.
The notorious Mark Brandon Read is one of Australia's biggest-selling authors. His first book Chopper from the Inside was published in 1991. This book and the subsequent eight books published in the "Chopper" series have all been reprinted at least once. Moreover, Read's books inspired one of the most critically and commercially successful Australian films in the past decade - Chopper (2000). Hooky the Cripple is his first fairytale.
Adam Cullen won the Archibald Prize in 2000 and has recently been listed as one of Australia's top ten collectable artists. His work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in Australia, New Zealand, France, Belgium, Switzerland and Spain, and was included in the 25th São Paulo Biennale in Brazil, 2002. His work is represented by Yuill/Crowley-Sydney.
With striking illustrations by Adam Cullen, Mark "Chopper" Read's tale will shock, amuse and inspire.
The notorious Mark Brandon Read is one of Australia's biggest-selling authors. His first book Chopper from the Inside was published in 1991. This book and the subsequent eight books published in the "Chopper" series have all been reprinted at least once. Moreover, Read's books inspired one of the most critically and commercially successful Australian films in the past decade - Chopper (2000). Hooky the Cripple is his first fairytale.
Adam Cullen won the Archibald Prize in 2000 and has recently been listed as one of Australia's top ten collectable artists. His work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in Australia, New Zealand, France, Belgium, Switzerland and Spain, and was included in the 25th São Paulo Biennale in Brazil, 2002. His work is represented by Yuill/Crowley-Sydney.
60 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2002
About the author
Mark Brandon Read
32 books49 followersMark Brandon "Chopper" Read is an Australian ex-criminal who wrote a series of semi-autobiographical and fictional crime novels.
--from wikipedia
--from wikipedia
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 15, 2022
Hooky The Cripple is a strangely gripping read - the lexicon and grammar used are not unlike that of the Harry Potter books. It's definitely in a vernacular and style aimed at children, even if the themes and narrative are, perhaps, too mature for that audience. I was surprised to have enjoyed this book and its purposeful vulgarity.
In the book, Hooky is born into a life of struggle and is constantly demoralised by his community. Eventually, he snaps and defends himself, resulting in a colourful homicide. He is brought before a judge and at the last moment spared, due to the fallibility of the court, due to human nature. This rang true in an odd way and reminded me of a murder case that was overturned in the UK some years ago - where a woman had murdered her husband, but was later pardoned due to him having been incredibly emotionally abusive - in that instance a judge did not lose their cool in court, but rather found empathy for a long suffering domestic abuse survivor. A bully cannot be a victim.
The other reviews I've read here seem to want to play on the author's life rather than actually engage with the text. There is truth in dark places - I'd give this a read with fresh eyes before you judge the book by it's author.
In the book, Hooky is born into a life of struggle and is constantly demoralised by his community. Eventually, he snaps and defends himself, resulting in a colourful homicide. He is brought before a judge and at the last moment spared, due to the fallibility of the court, due to human nature. This rang true in an odd way and reminded me of a murder case that was overturned in the UK some years ago - where a woman had murdered her husband, but was later pardoned due to him having been incredibly emotionally abusive - in that instance a judge did not lose their cool in court, but rather found empathy for a long suffering domestic abuse survivor. A bully cannot be a victim.
The other reviews I've read here seem to want to play on the author's life rather than actually engage with the text. There is truth in dark places - I'd give this a read with fresh eyes before you judge the book by it's author.
December 29, 2020
My wonderful girlfriend tracked down a copy for me for Christmas. Hooky the Cripple is a bizarre piece of Outsider Art filled with bleak and colourless imagery except for disturbing punctuations of red. On one level, it is (as Chopper says in a blurb at the end of the book) a story of not judging the bullied and oppressed and a call to have understanding even for the violent in our society. On another level, given that Hooky is a thinly veiled representation of Chopper himself, it's also the story of an unrepentant murderer who blames everything but himself for the time he spent in jail, culminating in a ludicrous wish-fulfilment court trial that attempts satire and fails spectacularly.
It is a violent, miserable mess and an insight into the mind of a charismatic sociopath. Of course I gave it 5 stars.
It is a violent, miserable mess and an insight into the mind of a charismatic sociopath. Of course I gave it 5 stars.
June 20, 2015
I'm not really sure what I was expecting of a book by Chopper, but if I'd thought about it, I think I would have expected this.
The storyline is a revenge fantasy -- Hooky is born to a mother who has fallen from beauty and grace into degradation, and as a child he is bullied by a butcher. After killing the butcher, Hooky is put to trial, and is helped by an unlikely source. The setting implies the Mafia, and there's some fairly heavy-handed treatment of the characters -- e.g. the mother, who embodies the Madonna/whore dichotomy, changes names from "Madonna" to "whore" in the eyes of the town. Characters have stereotypical accents, and there's not a whiff of political correctness in the whole short volume.
The primary message of the book seems to be that if someone offends or annoys you, physical violence or degradation should be your first recourse. Even a judge is portrayed as being moved to violence for a minor annoyance. The legal system itself is portrayed as simplistic and unjust, and major institutions are treated with mistrust -- the priests lust after Hooky's mother, the court is brutal, the townsfolk are unhelpful. We are reminded in an afterword that it is a dog-eat-dog world -- that not every Hooky has a guardian angel. So what am I supposed to take away? Strike first lest ye be struck? Not really the sort of world I want to live in, but perhaps the world where the author resided for a good deal of his life.
I can see why this was banned by some schools, and is still controversial when it comes to wondering if it should be considered or marketed as a children's book.
Cullen's illustrations are brutal and bloody, as is the story. They're reminiscent of Dave McKean in places, and make an excellent match for the material. Overall, it's a strange and deeply uncomfortable story, and I'm not sure that I'm happy to have read it. I had a hard time rating it, because I didn't really like it, per se, but reading it in the context of its creator and intent, I do think it's worth more than one star.
The storyline is a revenge fantasy -- Hooky is born to a mother who has fallen from beauty and grace into degradation, and as a child he is bullied by a butcher. After killing the butcher, Hooky is put to trial, and is helped by an unlikely source. The setting implies the Mafia, and there's some fairly heavy-handed treatment of the characters -- e.g. the mother, who embodies the Madonna/whore dichotomy, changes names from "Madonna" to "whore" in the eyes of the town. Characters have stereotypical accents, and there's not a whiff of political correctness in the whole short volume.
The primary message of the book seems to be that if someone offends or annoys you, physical violence or degradation should be your first recourse. Even a judge is portrayed as being moved to violence for a minor annoyance. The legal system itself is portrayed as simplistic and unjust, and major institutions are treated with mistrust -- the priests lust after Hooky's mother, the court is brutal, the townsfolk are unhelpful. We are reminded in an afterword that it is a dog-eat-dog world -- that not every Hooky has a guardian angel. So what am I supposed to take away? Strike first lest ye be struck? Not really the sort of world I want to live in, but perhaps the world where the author resided for a good deal of his life.
I can see why this was banned by some schools, and is still controversial when it comes to wondering if it should be considered or marketed as a children's book.
Cullen's illustrations are brutal and bloody, as is the story. They're reminiscent of Dave McKean in places, and make an excellent match for the material. Overall, it's a strange and deeply uncomfortable story, and I'm not sure that I'm happy to have read it. I had a hard time rating it, because I didn't really like it, per se, but reading it in the context of its creator and intent, I do think it's worth more than one star.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews